Aftermath
by Scarlett H. Hamilton
Summary: Co-authored with Raven Lynn Morrigan. Robin helps Raven find away to cope in the aftermath of one dark night. One-shot. COMPLETE.


**This is another one of those stories my cousin was going to trash that I am rewriting. It looks like this one is one of those stories she started to write in order to cope after she was raped. It was short so I decided to revamp this one into a one-shot and focus on the aftermath and not the event itself.**

**Aftermath**

Raven sits up breathing heavily, trying to stifle a scream. She quickly gets up out of bed having no desire to go back to sleep anytime soon. That night haunts her every waking moment and she relives it every time she closes her eyes in sleep. She gets up dawning her cloak and draws it close around her as she heads to the kitchen to make some tea in attempt to calm her nerves.

The others have been worried about her. Very worried. Robin watches from the shadows as Raven drifts down the hall. All she does now is drift around the tower. Locking herself in her room even more than usual. Coming out only when there is trouble or when everyone has gone to bed.

She pauses at the windows looking out over the ocean. There have been times she wishes that she could just jump in and let it swallow her up. She would give anything to escape the nightmare that has become her life.

Robin waits in the doorway watching as Raven makes tea. Whatever is wrong with Raven its gone on long enough. He should have talked to her long before now, but something in him knows not to push her too soon or too hard. After she sits down at the table with her steaming cup of tea he finally approaches her. "You're up late."

Raven gasps startled. She hadn't realized that anyone was up. "Robin...what are you doing up?"

"Worrying."

"About what?"

"You."

She pulls her cloak tighter around her-refusing to look up at Robin as he approaches her.

Robin sits down at the table across from Raven. "I can tell that something is wrong. Whatever it is you can talk to me."

"I would rather not talk about it."

He sits there watching her for awhile before he speaks again. "I'm not just talking to you as the leader of this team Raven. I'm talking to you as a friend. You are holding something in and it isn't healthy for you...or anyone else."

Raven glances up at Robin but says nothing.

"If this continues I'm afraid it will affect your control over your powers. The last time you turned the tower into a horror movie. I think whatever happened it is much worse than you getting scared by a movie. I hate to think of what might happen with your powers if what ever is bothering you keeps eating you up inside."

She pushes back her tea and rests her elbows on the table as she buries her face in her hands.

Robin stands up as he hears Raven begin to sob. He goes over to her but she quickly jerks away as he reaches out to her.

"Don't touch me!"

He draws back watching Raven-confused by her outburst but now more worried about her than ever.

Raven looks up at Robin. There is no way to hide it anymore. "I...I'm sorry...I..." She breaks down in tears that she has been holding in since that night.

"Raven?" He sits down by her but no close enough to upset her. "What is it? What happened?"

"I...I was..." Raven takes several deep breaths before she finally spits out the word. "...raped."

Robin sits there in shocked silence as Raven cries. Of all the things he was expecting her to blurt out rape wasn't one of them. He has several questions but leaves them unasked as she gets up and runs from the room.

Raven rushes back up to her room and collapses on the bed where she curls up crying. Actually saying the word has brought all the horror of that night rushing back to her.

He doesn't know exactly how to respond to Raven's news. He could go wake Starfire and see if she could get Raven to talk about it. But that doesn't seem like a good idea. Raven doesn't need to be pushed anymore right now. He worries that if she is that she might break completely. He goes instead to one of the storage rooms and sifts through a box of his old childhood stuff. Once he finds the item he wants he goes to Raven's room. Robin hesitates before knocking lightly on the door.

She looks up as the door opens slightly the last thing she wants to do is face Robin but she forces herself to get up and go to the door.

Robin holds out the old teddy bear. Its a little worn but still in good shape. "He was mine when I was a kid. He isn't big on conversation, but I know for a fact he is a great listener."

Raven looks up at Robin. The child-like simplicity of the gesture is touching. "I've never talked to a teddy bear before. What do I say?"

"Anything." Robin hands the bear over to Raven. "He's also good at chasing away bad dreams."

She holds the bear close. "Thank you, Robin."

Robin starts to walk away but stops. "I'm here when you're ready to talk."

Raven watches Robin walk away then looks down at the teddy bear. She holds it close as she closes the door and goes back to lay down, even though a part of her fails to see how such a simple toy could help. As she lays down on the bed, Raven hugs the bear close to her as she drifts off to sleep.


End file.
